With 42 dental surgeons per 100,000 inhabitantsNormandy is the French region least well equipped with practitionersknowing that the national average is 63. There is currently a shortage of 800 dental surgeons on Normandy territory to catch up. Suffice to say that the new University Dental Care Center of Caen was eagerly awaited. This brand new equipment was inaugurated this Thursday.
Located at the foot of the current Caen University Hospital tower, in the immense reconstruction project of the Caen hospital currently underway, it cost 15 million eurosco-financed by the State and the region. Launched in 2021 by the prime minister at the time Jean Castex, the project was largely pushed by the Normandy community, as claimed by Hervé Morin, its president. “Health is not a regional competencehe explains, but the training does. We therefore did everything to ensure that this center saw the light of day, so as to no longer see Caen students go to train elsewhere.“.
The new faculty of odontology at the UFR santé de Caen was inaugurated on November 14, 2024. © Radio France – Nolwenn Le Jeune
80% of dental students settle in the region where they studied
The stated goal, by training students in the region, is in fact that once their course is completed, they settle in the region. “The numbers speak for themselves, explains the director general of the Normandy Regional Health Agency, François Mengin Lecreulx. We generally observe that 80% of dental training students remain working where they completed their training.“.
A building that is both hospital and university
The building accommodates on the ground floor and first floor a medical care area. Equipped with 40 chairs, it allows external students, supervised by professionals (university hospital or private dental surgeons) to care for up to 70 patients per day.
The second and last floor accommodates thetraining space undergraduate students, who train in dental care through simulation on mannequins. There is also a laboratory room in which students practice, for example, reconstructing teeth in wax. And finally a plaster room which allows them to get closer to the work of dental prosthetists. The Caen faculty is currently welcoming promotions of 30 studentswith the ultimate ambition of reaching 50.
Students from the University of Caen train in dental care on mannequins. © Radio France – Nolwenn Le Jeune
